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Still No Way Still No Way Out Foreign national women and trafficked women in the criminal justice system Summary report About the Prison Reform Trust The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) is an independent UK charity working to create a just, humane and effective prison system. We have a longstanding interest in improving criminal justice outcomes for women. Our Transforming Lives strategy to reduce the unnecessary imprisonment of women, supported by the Big Lottery Fund, includes a specific objective to reduce the disproportionate imprisonment of foreign national women and trafficked women. For further information about Transforming Lives see: www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/women PRT’s Advice and Information Service provides information to women and men in prison on prison rules, life in prison, prisoners’ rights, prison conditions and how to get help in prison and can be contacted at: Prison Reform Trust, FREEPOST ND 6125, London EC1B 1PN or by freephone on 0808 802 0060. About Hibiscus Initiatives Established in 1986, Hibiscus Initiatives (Hibiscus) is a leading specialist charity, committed to supporting foreign national people involved in the immigration and criminal justice systems. Thirty years on, their expertise and depth of experience is widely valued. While women remain the main focus of Hibiscus’ work, the organisation assists some men in similar circumstances. The work falls into four broad areas: • Advocacy and welfare advice in prison • Assistance and support with return and reintegration to home countries • Assistance with community resettlement and reintegration in the UK • Mentoring support in prison and the community. Identification and support of victims of human trafficking is embedded in all areas of Hibiscus’ work. For more information see: www.hibiscusinitiatives.org.uk Credits and acknowledgements This report is the result of collaboration between PRT and Hibiscus, as part of PRT’s Transforming Lives programme. It was prepared by Katy Swaine Williams with Zoey Litchfield and Dr Jenny Earle, with assistance from Ryan Harman and volunteer Lauren Nickolls of PRT, and in consultation with Adrienne Darragh, Michaela Jarosinska and Vanna Derosas of Hibiscus. The report includes an analysis of caseload data and case studies prepared by Michaela Jarosinska of Hibiscus, and the views of women expressed at a focus group led by PRT and hosted at Hibiscus’ specialist women’s centre in London in June 2017. We would like to thank Liz Hogarth OBE (Trustee of Hibiscus), Paramjit Ahluwalia (barrister), Philippa Southwell (solicitor advocate) and Dr Liz Hales for commenting on drafts and all those who took part in our roundtable on 19 July 2018. We are particularly grateful to all the foreign national women who took part in our research, whose insights are invaluable in developing a more just and humane criminal justice system. © Prison Reform Trust, 2018 ISBN: 978-1-908504-45-6 Cover image: ‘Caged Feathers’, HMP Send, drawing, 2018. Courtesy of the Koestler Trust. 2 This is a summary and overview of the full report which can be accessed online and contains further detailed information about the policy frameworks, the research and the evidence gathered to underpin our recommendations. Contents Methodology and scope of this report 4 Key facts 5 Background 6 Findings and recommendations 11 Experiences of foreign national women and trafficked women 20 Useful organisations 23 End notes 26 3 Methodology and scope of this report This report considers the experience of foreign national women and trafficked women in the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It draws upon data from a number of sources, including published statistics, freedom of information requests and parliamentary questions, inspectorate reports and research studies as well as evidence gathered by Hibiscus. Analysis of Hibiscus’ caseload data 2013-2017 Hibiscus analysed three sets of data gathered through their work with foreign national women. Although the numbers of women involved are relatively small, this provides an important insight into women’s experiences that is not available from other sources. Quantitative analysis: The cases of 585 women service users in prison were reviewed, drawing out quantitative data relating to their experiences. These women received services from Hibiscus in two prisons between 2013 and 2017. Qualitative analysis: This draws on the cases of 182 women who received services from Hibiscus in prison between April 2016 and March 2017. Trafficking caseload analysis: Data was analysed from the cases of 45 women in prison whom Hibiscus case workers identified as victims and potential victims of trafficking between February 2013 and March 2017. Freedom of information request The government does not routinely publish criminal justice data broken down by gender and nationality except quarterly snapshot prison numbers. These figures do not reflect the total number of women received into prison over the course of a year (‘receptions data’) and show a preponderance of people serving longer sentences. In response to a freedom of information request by PRT, in February 2018 the Ministry of Justice provided receptions data which is referred to under Key Facts.1 Focus group, June 2017 A focus group was held by PRT at Hibiscus’ specialist women’s centre in North London on 1 June 2017. Seven women service users took part, all of whom had been told about the purpose of the event and freely consented to participate. Roundtable consultation, 19 July 2018 We held a roundtable meeting in the House of Lords on 19 July 2018, hosted by Baroness Hamwee and chaired by Anne Fox, CEO of Clinks, at which the report’s draft findings and recommendations were considered. Attendees included representatives of the judiciary, CPS, police, probation, prisons, Ministry of Justice, Police and Crime Commissioners, parliamentarians and voluntary sector agencies, as well as two foreign national women with experience of the criminal justice system who participated with support from Hibiscus. These discussions informed the final report. 4 Key facts • Foreign national women represent 8% of the general population in England and Wales2, but over 12% of all women received into prison each year and nearly 19% of those remanded3. • This has come down since 2013 when foreign national women represented 17.5% of all women received into prison and 23.3% of those remanded.4 • Foreign national men and women accounted for nearly a fifth of self-inflicted deaths investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in 2015–16.5 • Most (59%) of the foreign national women in prison in England and Wales on 30 September 2017 were from Europe, with the largest groups from Romania and Ireland.6 The most common countries of origin have remained consistent since 2013, apart from a decrease in the number of imprisoned Vietnamese women.7 • Of 585 foreign national women in prison supported by Hibiscus from 2013 to 2017: - Nearly half (49.7%) were held on remand. Of those sentenced, 49% were serving short sentences of one year or less, with 15% serving three to six months and 14% serving one to three months. - The offences for which foreign national women are imprisoned are overwhelmingly non- violent. The most common offences for which the women were in prison were fraud (18%), theft (18%) and false document offences (10%). These are all indicator offences for trafficking and coercion. - 57% of the women did not speak any English and required an interpreter. - 38% (222 women) disclosed that they had dependent children. For over a fifth of these women, their children were five years old or under. • Amongst 182 foreign national women in prison supported by Hibiscus from 2016 to 2017, 53% had problems relating to their immigration status. • Over half (56%) of all foreign national women prisoners in England and Wales are located in three prisons: HMP Bronzefield (27%), HMP & YOI Peterborough (18%) and HMP Downview (11%).8 The other 44% are dispersed across the women’s prison estate. • Support for foreign national women in prison, such as interpreting and immigration legal advice, varies considerably and resettlement support is generally poor.9 They are rarely considered for open conditions and Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL).10 As at 31 December 2017 there were only two foreign national women held in open conditions11, severely restricting access to ROTL12. • The Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduced a defence for victims of modern slavery compelled to commit a criminal offence.13 Yet evidence confirms that victims of modern slavery continue to be prosecuted for crimes they were forced to commit. • Hibiscus identified 45 women in prison as victims or potential victims of trafficking from February 2013 to March 2017, all of whom had disclosed information about their exploitation. They were in prison for between one and three months to up to three years, with four remaining in prison at the time of completing the data analysis. 5 Background …[My probation officer later] said that if the judge had seen a presentence report about me probably my sentence wouldn’t have been … a 20 month sentence, for a first time…too harsh and too quick as well…and I think all that was because I was a foreign national. Hibiscus focus group, June 2017 Six years on from the No Way Out briefing14, which highlighted the over representation of foreign national women in prison in England and Wales, their particular vulnerabilities and the barriers to justice that many face, it is time to review progress. Whilst there has been a decrease
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